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Interview With a Syrian Activist; Rick Santorum's Trifecta Shakes up Race; Call for International Community to Help End Violence in Syria; Santorum Pulls Off 3-State Win; French Lessons In Raising Kids; Getting Smart About Your Heart
Aired February 08, 2012 - 11:57 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Back to one of the big stories of the day, Syria. I want you to just look for a minute and watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: That is the city of Homs today. This is now the fourth straight day of heavy shelling and bombing by Syrian government forces. We have gotten video in from a young man in Homs. We're going to call him Danny to protect his identity. This is what he shows us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANNY, SYRIAN ACTIVIST: It's a bump for a tax shell or a rocket. Look over there. That's the House. Look, that's a house. They hit that house with a rocket. Civilians are living in that house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Danny is joining us by home from Homs.
Danny, first of all, we want to thank you for even talking to us. We know that you're risking your life to even bring this to us. Can you give us a sense of what is taking place in Homs on the ground now?
DANNY: First of all, I'd like to thank you for having me on. Second of all, Homs is terrible. They're doing a massacre. They're getting the Syrian army. They're surrounding this whole area. They're surrounding the whole area with Army troops and tanks and anti-aircraft. They've been bombarding us from 5:00 a.m. with all kinds of rockets. This is one of the rockets they're firing in the Houses. There are mortar bombs, shells, rockets. We have over 100 people dead. We don't know all their identities yet. Some of them are just pieces of bodies. Children have been killed, 5-year-olds, 3- year-olds. The rockets have landed in the House on civilians. And, Danny, what --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: And, Danny --
(CROSSTALK)
DANNY: Yes?
MALVEAUX: I can see you are using Skype. You're not on the phone there. I do not want you to reveal in any way where you are because it is so dangerous, but are you worried in any way for your safety for coming forward and telling your story about what is taking place there in your community?
DANNY: No, I'm not afraid. I'm like any other guy here. They'll all fight to the end. People have been asking me, "If you're in Homs, how have you got Internet?" See, we have satellite Internet. We've got a technique like (INAUDIBLE). That's how we are paying for us to use the equipment so we can use it, pay for it from our side of the country.
There's no communication, no electricity. This house is (INAUDIBLE) by generators (INAUDIBLE). There is still an army.
This is new. They've been doing this today. They're using human shields.
They've got human shields in every single barricade they've got for the Free Syrian Army. They've been hitting them. They keep hitting us and bombarding us, and the Free Syrian Army can't hit them back because they've put civilians right in front of them.
MALVEAUX: Danny, you showed us that rocket in your hand that is going into the homes in your community. How are people coping right now when those kinds of attacks are raining down on families and children?
DANNY: You see, what's weird is that (INAUDIBLE) hiding in corners in their house. It's something really, really weird.
The women and children have got used to seeing blood in the street and bodies in the street and body parts. They are really afraid.
We want someone to interfere and help us. We are asking the U.N. to please do something about this.
We don't care if the American forces occupy us. It doesn't matter. We want any force to come in here and help us.
This is one of the mortar bombs that landed in one of the houses today and killed a child who is 2 years old. His brain came out of the back of his head.
This is how they're living. Eight-year-old and 9-year-old children have to run through the streets. They know there's houses. Why do they have to run? Why do children have to live like this?
MALVEAUX: Danny, we actually heard what sounded like gunshots during this interview. Are you OK? Are you in danger? Are there people shooting where you are? DANNY: Yes, there's snipers. There's snipers all around this area on the long building. You could hear them. Anyone who tries to cross the street will get shot.
I'm going to leave the house in half an hour. We're (INAUDIBLE) hide so a sniper doesn't see us or shoot us.
We're making our own way between buildings so snipers can't shoot us. This is the way we're trying to live.
I am not a journalist. I'm not in the government. I don't work in any kind of this stuff. I'm a human being trying to live, and this is how we're living.
I am not from the Free Syrian Army. I'm not from the army. Why are they targeting human beings?
MALVEAUX: Do you have any defense at all, yourself, your friends, your family? Do you have weapons? How are you managing to fight back, if at all?
DANNY: We've got a Free Army from 700 to 1,000. This house I'm living in, we've got about 20 guys living in the house. We've only got two handguns.
So if the army does come in, they will not let them capture us. Because if they do take us, we will be tortured, we will be killed. We will be tortured to death.
And we have been getting bodies which are being tortured to death. You should see what the bodies look like. The bodies come back in pieces.
They have been electrocuted. They have been (INAUDIBLE). There have been sticking metal stuff under their armpits. It's terrible. We will not let them catch us alive. We have two handguns to protect 20 people here.
MALVEAUX: Danny, what do you want to say to those who are watching? What do you need from those of us who are outside and who can't possibly understand what it is like day to day, the conditions that you're living in? What do you need from us?
DANNY: We need the people in outside countries starting to move. We want the people to move their governments.
The people are supposed to move their government, the government doesn't move the people. We want people to get out and demonstrate for us. We're human beings.
I'm sorry, but we're human beings. We're not animals being killed here. We have been treated like animals for a whole year now.
We are being treated like animals and no one is doing anything about this. We want someone to move.
We have been living like animals in our houses. We're scared. I'm scared a rocket might land in this window right now and kill me.
Why do we have to live like this? I am begging the U.N. to do something. I am begging the outside European world (ph) to do something to help us.
This regime will not leave in a peaceful way. This regime will only leave by force. This is a fact, and we know this.
MALVEAUX: Danny, my final question to you here is why are you making this kind of sacrifice? Why are you putting yourself out there before the cameras, before the world here, risking your life to tell this story about what's happening to you?
DANNY: I have been in this revolution from the beginning. I went out from the first day. I've lost more than 30 of my friends. This is a feeling you can never stop.
I've lost more than 30 of my friends. Ten of them -- or 12 of them -- died right in front of me because I couldn't take them to the hospital, because I couldn't move them from the streets.
This is my feeling. We're going to keep on to the end.
I will not let this regime take control of us. I will not let this president take control of us.
He has blood on his hands. He has Syrian blood on his hands. He is killing his own people.
This regime, this army, they are (INAUDIBLE). They're dancing over dead bodies. They're using human shields. They've got civilians in the barricades (INAUDIBLE).
MALVEAUX: Danny, I want to thank you so much for speaking out, for being as brave and courageous as you are. We are going to keep in touch with you. I want you to be able to talk with us and communicate.
Was that another gunshot sound? Can you tell us what's happening?
DANNY: That's a sniper. That's a sniper. That's a sniper.
People are trying to cross -- people run to cut the way, a sniper shoots them. You're either lucky -- you either get shot or you don't get shot.
This is nothing. You should have come with us four hours ago and hear the bombardment going on. You would hear a rocket land every 20 seconds. This is nothing. This is really nice now.
MALVEAUX: How close are those snipers to you? Can you tell where they are? I mean, you can obviously hear them.
DANNY: We know. We know which buildings they're in. They're like 700 meters away, one kilometer away. They're surrounding all -- as I said, we're making our only little way so we can walk through them, so I can walk to the state hospital, so we can walk just in this area without getting shot by a sniper.
My friend got shot by a sniper today. It hit him right in his shoulder. I have my friend here now. If you want to see the injury, he will show you the injury.
MALVEAUX: You have your friend with you there who was shot by a sniper?
DANNY: Yes. Do you want to see the injury the sniper did?
MALVEAUX: OK.
DANNY: Just one second. I'm sorry.
The sniper hit the pack, came in from the back with two -- in his back shoulder. There are some injured people from the car.
As you can see, this is where the bullet went in.
Right here. No, no.
This is where the bullet went in.
MALVEAUX: OK.
DANNY: There, I'll take it off and show you if you want so the Syrian forces don't say that we're lying. You can see the blood in there.
MALVEAUX: OK. Danny --
DANNY: They will say this is ketchup. They said I'm an Israeli guy, I'm a traitor. That's what the Syrian government is saying about me.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Well, Danny, we certainly hope that you and your friend remain safe. That is the priority here.
Obviously, you're very courageous to bring this story to us and to the world. But we want you, first and foremost, to take care of yourselves.
If we can keep in contact with you, we certainly will. And we appreciate, once again, for your having the courage to come forward and tell us what is taking place in your community, in your country, in Syria.
We are also going to talk more about this national security adviser -- not an adviser, but an analyst, rather, Fran Townsend, about what is taking place on the grouped in Syria. That's going to happen later this hour.
Rick Santorum is re-energizing his campaign. He's shaking up the Republican race for president.
He is coming off of a three-state sweep in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri. Santorum hopes to cash in big on his wins. He's in Texas today because an adviser says that's where the money is.
Santorum says money isn't everything, but it's part of the game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're doing very, very well raising money. I think last night we raised about $250,000 online. So we're doing really well, and we feel like going forward, we're going to have the money we need to make the case we want to make.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Rick Santorum's rivals are nursing their wounds, looking ahead to the next dates on the election calendar.
Newt Gingrich, he is in Ohio the today. It's one of 10 states holding elections on Super Tuesday. That's March 6th. Gingrich is hoping those races will revive his campaign.
Mitt Romney, he was looking for a win in Colorado yesterday, didn't get it. He campaigns later today in Georgia. That's another Super Tuesday state.
Here is your chance to "Talk Back" back on one of the big stories of the day.
Today's question: What is it about Rick Santorum? He's kept his campaign running on a shoestring budget, yet he managed to win all three states yesterday.
Carol Costello, she's joining us from Washington with more.
Carol, some are saying it's got to be the sweater vest, but it's more than that. Yes?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it's more than those dapper sweater vests, Suzanne. I do. But there's no denying this -- it was a "Mittastrophe."
That was my favorite headline in regards to Tuesday's tri-state vote. It came from "The Huffington Post." But I digress.
So I'll tweak a line from actress Sally Field. They like Rick. They really like him. At least that's why some political analysts think Mr. Santorum stole Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado from Mitt Romney's well-oiled machine.
Although Romney endorser Donald Trump is still mystified.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, CHAIRMAN & PRESIDENT, THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Rick Santorum was a sitting senator who, in re-election, lost by 19 points. To my knowledge, the most in the history of this country, for a sitting senator to lose by 19 points. It's unheard of. Then he goes out and says, oh, OK, I just lost by the biggest margin in history, now I'm going to run for president. Tell me, how does that work? How does that work?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, maybe it's working because, as CNN analyst Gloria Borger put it, Santorum speaks middle America. He chooses words and phrases that resonate.
This is Santorum talking about President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORUM: I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't listening. Why would you think he would be listening now? Has he ever listened to the voice of America before?
AUDIENCE: No!
SANTORUM: No. Why? Because he thinks he knows better. He thinks he's smarter than you. He thinks he's someone who is a privileged person, who should be able to rule over all of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Or maybe it's because Santorum's stand on social issues resonates at a time Planned Parenthood, Komen and the Catholic Church all say they're under fire. Or perhaps it's more simple than all of that. Maybe it's because Santorum hasn't been the subject of negative political ads. Of course that soon will change. But analysts don't elect candidates, you do.
So, the "Talk Back" question today: What is it about Rick Santorum?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your responses later this hour.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Carol.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Well, he was the man to watch today, Rick Santorum. He is the man with the mojo. He is shaking up the Republican race after a clean sweep of all three states yesterday, Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.
Joining us to talk about Santorum's triple win, what it means, John Avlon. He's a CNN contributor, senior political columnist for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast."
Hey, John. Wow.
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: I mean, yesterday, when we saw this big day for him -- I want you to listen to the confidence that he had this morning on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ladies and Gentlemen, I don't stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right. So that was last night.
If you're a conservative, he's your guy. Is there enough in the party to make him the front-runner?
AVLON: Well, look, I mean, first of all, let's just give the guy's due. Santorum sweep? I mean, they are two words nobody in the Republican Party thought they would not be hearing this election cycle.
It seemed pretty clear he was going to do well in Minnesota, where Mitt Romney had won four nights before. But not only did Rick Santorum win Minnesota, Mitt Romney came in third, a distant third.
Colorado, that state wasn't even supposed to be in play, and here's Rick Santorum claiming that high ground. So, yes, he is coalescing the majority of the party that still seems to be looking for an alternative to Mitt Romney as the nominee.
The person who really lost yesterday wasn't just Mitt Romney, it was Newt Gingrich, who, up until now, had been selling this notion of a two-man race between him and Mitt, where he was supposedly the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. Well, now Rick Santorum is in that particular poll position, and you're going to see a big money bump coming out of that strong showing last night.
MALVEAUX: This may be too early, but I imagine you're probably going to see some horse trading going on here, some deal-making behind the scenes to get the Gingrich supporters, to get the Ron Paul supporters, maybe even the Santorum supporters, that Romney is going to be doing some serious work to look around and say, look, I need you guys, I need to win you over.
When does that happen?
AVLON: Well, I don't know that we'll see a charm offensive, but I'm going to look into a crystal ball and, with some degree of confidence, say we're going to see a carpet bombing of negative ad attacks, because that's been the Romney play to date. Whenever somebody really rises in the polls to the point where they're a serious competitor to Mitt Romney, he unleashes millions of dollars in negative attack ads.
It worked in Iowa. It worked in Florida, certainly, where he spent $15 million to win that state between the campaign and the associated super PAC. So now, of course, Rick Santorum is going to have the target set on him. He knows that. But the question is, when you're dealing with that level of money, whether any candidate can withstand that really negative definition. That is the one silver lining I think Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul can take out of last night, is that now that attack ad machine is going to be directed at Rick Santorum for the next several weeks.
MALVEAUX: And we also saw last night Mitt Romney telling a story about his father's humble beginnings. I want you to listen to how he put this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My dad believed in America. And in the America he believed in, a lath and plaster guy could work out to be -- become head of a car company, and the guy who sold aluminum paint out of his car could end up being governor in one of the states he sold that very aluminum paint.
For my dad and for hundreds of thousands, millions of others like him, and like my mom, as well, this was the land of opportunity, where the circumstance of birth was no barrier to being able to achieve one's dreams.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: All right, John. So, you know, everybody criticizes him for his wealth, his family's wealth. Are we seeing a more sincere, sensitive Romney? Who is he trying to appeal to here?
AVLON: What you're seeing there is an extended, well-scripted mea culpa for the "I'm not concerned about the very poor" line. He's using his father's character narrative as a way of saying, look, I didn't mean it, I'm one of you, I can relate to middle class Americans who have been squeezed by the economy despite my own fairly privileged upbringing because my family has experienced that kind of hardship, my family has experienced the kind of opportunity society in America. But make no mistake, not only was that a speech after an unexpected loss, that was a speech very much trying to redirect the negative momentum that's come in the wake of that mistake and several up to this point.
The other big negative dynamic that Mitt Romney in particular needs to deal with is this low turnout that we've seen throughout this cycle and this enthusiasm gap that seems in particular to be a comment upon Mitt Romney's candidacy and his status as the previous presumptive front-runner. So that's another thing he's going to have to deal with to cross the base, getting the grassroots out.
MALVEAUX: John, real quick here, let's talk about the big money, the super PAC money.
So you see one of the big sponsors here, Foster Friess, hovering behind Rick Santorum on the stage last night. He couldn't underscore more the role that big money is playing in this campaign. Do you think it's good for him to have someone who some see as your sugar daddy over your shoulder?
AVLON: Every candidate has got a sugar daddy in this race. That's the problem with this post-Citizens United world. Super PACs are perpetuated by sugar daddies. It wasn't real subtle, the placement, but it's actually a pretty accurate representation of the importance of that one individual to Rick Santorum's campaign.
Here's the big question. After a big win last night, will market forces, in effect, take over?
Apparently, Santorum said this morning he raised $250,000 in the wake of last night. He's going to have to have more grassroots support like that, because as important as these billionaire sugar daddies to our politics, for better and probably mostly for worse, they can't sustain a campaign on their own.
MALVEAUX: All right. John, I'm taking the -- the takeaway here, "Everyone has a sugar daddy." That's the line.
Thank you, John. Appreciate it.
AVLON: Creepy, but true.
MALVEAUX: It's true. It says a lot about this campaign and how it's so dramatically different than four years ago.
Thank you, John.
A man and his pocket knife save a 6-year-old from an attacking mountain lion. You're going to hear from them next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We're getting harrowing accounts out of Syria. The government is unleashing tanks, bombs, snipers on people in the city of Homs for the fourth straight day.
I spoke earlier to a young man who lives there. We're calling him Danny to protect his identity. Just take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Danny, we actually heard what sounded like gunshots during this interview. Are you OK? Are you in danger? Are there people shooting where you are?
DANNY: Yes, there's snipers. There's snipers all around this area on the long building. You could hear them. Anyone who tries to cross the street will get shot.
I'm going to leave the house in half an hour. We're (INAUDIBLE) hide so a sniper doesn't see us or shoot us.
We're making our own way between buildings so snipers can't shoot us. This is the way we're trying to live.
I am not a journalist. I'm not in the government. I don't work in any kind of this stuff. I'm a human being trying to live, and this is how we're living.
I am not from the Free Syrian Army. I'm not from the army. Why are they targeting human beings?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: On the phone now from New York, Fran Townsend. She is CNN's national security contributor and a member of the CIA External Advisory Committee.
Fran, after talking to Danny and getting an inside look at what is taking place there in the community, on the street, do you have any sense of what the international community can do to help end the violence there?
FRANCES TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, look, the U.S. feels both frustrated, I think, and thwarted by Russia and China at the U.N. Security Council. They would have felt freer and less constrained if the resolution had passed.
But, you know, what you need to do then is look to has the greatest trading relationships and influence with those partners, Russia and China. And frankly, you want the Arab nations, the Gulf nations, to lead.
They have the advantage of also having, for example, in Saudi Arabia tremendously deep, strong ties both to Russia and to China, whether that's providing oil to China or that's a military-to-military relationship with Russia. Saudi Arabia could exert very strong influence. And what you'd like to see is the United States working diplomatically to get Arab nations to apply and -- that pressure to try and turn it around and bring the international community together.
Qatar has been trying to play that role, but I think you need more than just Qatar. You need strong powers like Saudi Arabia to begin to weigh in and turn this around.
MALVEAUX: And Fran, what kind of leverage to the United States have, the Obama administration have on actually putting that kind of pressure you talk about on the Arab nations to do something like this?
TOWNSEND: Well, look, we've seen very large military arms sales from U.S. providers to Saudi Arabia. Bahrain (inaudible) that is tied up right now.
Certainly, those nations feel the need now to invest in military resources because of the threat from Iran. And so we have -- the United States has leverage that -- and pressure they can bring to their Arab allies.
I don't know how hard it would be, frankly. The Arab allies have been outspoken. The Arab League has a resolution that what was before the U.N. Security Council. So they want to act. They want to see the killing stopped in Syria.
MALVEAUX: Is this a scenario where we might be able to set up a no- fly zone with our international allies like we did in Libya?
TOWNSEND: Well, it's certainly a crying need at the moment to have a no-fly zone in Syria, but it's a much more complicated environment. Syria has a very strong military capability of their own.
They are a huge arms purchaser from Russia and so they've got real state of the art equipment. It's a much more complicated scenario in Syria than it ever could have been in Libya. And so I think there's a good deal of skepticism about our ability to do that.
MALVEAUX: And Fran, finally, real quick here, what is the risk if you don't get involved?
TOWNSEND: Well, I mean, you run the risk. Every day, I mean, the atrocities and the murders, the killings by the regime visited by the Syrian people are of an epic proportion now.
And this is only going to continue. It's clear that the Syrian regime feels emboldened because Russia and China vetoed the U.N. Security resolution and it's only getting worse.
Absent action, we ought to expect it will continue to disintegrate to the detriment of those people.
MALVEAUX: All right, Fran Townsend, thank you very much for putting it all into perspective. We appreciate you.
So who will be the Republican candidate for president? Where does the race go from here? We're sorting it all out with Wolf Blitzer after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right, just when you think you have the Republican race all figured out, another turn, latest, Rick Santorum winning all three contests yesterday.
The caucuses in Minnesota, Colorado, the primary in Missouri, the race had gone back and forth in Colorado until the head of the state of the Republican Party called it live on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN CALL, CHAIRMAN, COLORADO REPUBLICAN PARTY: We have about 90 percent of our precincts reporting tonight. The Colorado Republican Party is prepared to announce that Rick Santorum has won Colorado's Republican poll with about 40 percent of the vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: All right, Wolf Blitzer. Hi, Wolf, good to see you. Wow. That was a great moment. Big day for Santorum after the big wins there. He says he's the clear conservative choice. Here is how he puts it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ladies and gentlemen, I don't stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: OK. Looking forward in the political landscape, still a long way to go, does he really have a better chance of beating President Obama with his credentials as a conservative?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": You know, it's amazing that he did win that trifecta, that clean sweep yesterday. You have to give Rick Santorum a lot of credit.
First of all, way back in Iowa, you know, he won the Iowa caucuses even though on the first day of the Iowa caucuses, it looked like he had narrowly lost by a couple dozen votes.
But after the recount, within two weeks, he was proclaimed the winner even though Mitt Romney and everyone else spent a whole lot more money. He went and traveled to all of those 99 counties in Iowa. He eventually won.
Now back in the heartland of the country, he wins in Missouri, in Minnesota and even in Colorado yesterday. So you got to give him a lot of credit, very impressive win and it's going to give him some political momentum.
Look, everyone is gearing up. There's a contest this Saturday in Maine. The Maine caucuses, I suspect Ron Paul will do relatively well there, but then at the end of the month, Arizona and Michigan.
If Mitt Romney can't win in Arizona and Michigan, two states where he supposedly is gearing up to do very well, this is going to be a wide open race going into March 6th into Super Tuesday.
I would venture to say it's anyone's guess right now what's going to happen, Suzanne. I know that Newt Gingrich wants to go all the way to Tampa, to the convention. Rick Santorum shows no intention of dropping out.
And Ron Paul has told me on several occasions, if he were to drop out, there would be a rebellion among his supporters. So this four-man race is continuing.
MALVEAUX: And I just want our viewers to know, the pictures they were watching, that was Rick Santorum out of Texas before pastors. They were laying hands and praying for him. Obviously, that is his base. That's the folks that he hopes for continued support. We know that Colorado was a big disappointment for Romney because he campaigned there for many days. He was expected to win.
Do we think that this means that Romney is really going to be a lot tougher now on Santorum in terms of attacks and those ads?
BLITZER: Yes. He will be not only focusing his attention primarily on Newt Gingrich, but he'll also be focusing his attention on Rick Santorum. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see those pro-Romney "Super PACs" and they have a lot of money, really going after both of these Republican presidential candidates.
Mitt Romney, you know, he has to fight and where he fights aggressively and gauges negative campaigning as he did, for example, in Florida, as he did in Nevada, he can do very well. They're all gearing up.
Right now, it's organization and money because on March 6th, the Super Tuesday, there will be a lot of contests. Newt Gingrich presumably will do well in some of the southern contests like in his home state of Georgia.
Mitt Romney will do well in other states, but Rick Santorum has a following and so does Ron Paul. So it's wide open right now. Remember four years ago, Suzanne, we covered the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination.
It wasn't until mid-June, after the Puerto Rico primary that everything was settled. This could go on within the next several months. It's going to be lively.
MALVEAUX: It was a battle until the end. They wanted that job desperately and they fought until the very end well into the summer. We may see the same thing here, Wolf.
BLITZER: We may even go all the way till the end of August, the Republican convention. Given the way they are not winner take all states any more, the delegate count, you need 1,144 to get the nomination.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if it goes to the convention very much like it did in 1970, I think you're way too young to remember this. In 1976 when Gerald Ford was the incumbent Republican president, Ronald Reagan was challenging him.
And it came down to the convention and Gerald Ford got the nomination. As you can remember, eventually he lost to Jimmy Carter, the challenger, but it could go down to that.
MALVEAUX: Yes, I kind of remember in elementary school days there, Wolf. But I studied my history, too. All right, Wolf, thank you so much. It's going to be really exciting.
Many parents can relate to taking their kids to a restaurant only to have them, right, misbehave. It happens, right? Maybe not. One author says we might be able to learn from French parents. I'm going to talk to her about why she's convinced the French are really better at parenting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Time for a new segment we call "Bookmark." It's the big ideas and the bestsellers that are driving the national conversation. This one focuses on raising children.
You would think by now there would be a guy that would make it perfect for parents. Short of that, we might be able to learn a thing of two about raising kids from my guest, Pamela Druckerman. Her new book, "Bringing Up Bebe," looks at why French children seem so much better behaved than American kids.
Pamela, OK, a lot of people are wondering, really, come on. So you're American, but you believe French parents do a better job. How did you come up with that conclusion?
PAMELA DRUCKERMAN, AUTHOR, "BRINGING UP BEBE": You know, I don't think French parents do a better job. I think it's been very instructive for me as an American who lives in Paris. I've had three kids in Paris to look at the way the French do things and see.
There are things I can learn from the French. You know, I'm still American. There are so many things I love about being an American parent.
But I've been amazed by the source of things that I've seen in France. I think pragmatically, you know, why not look at what we can take from other cultures and you know, French kids, for example, can sleep through the night earlier. Why not look at what they do to get them to do that.
MALVEAUX: All right, so let's go through some of the French lessons you discussed in the book. You say, first, children should say hello, goodbye, thank you, please. But American parents, they teach their kids to be polite. What's the difference here between the French kids and the Americans?
DRUCKERMAN: Well, we have two magic words in America, please and thank you. The French have two more. They have four. They make their kids say hello and good-bye. And it seems like a small thing, but French parents make a very big deal out of this.
And it's not just to be polite. They say that forcing a child or making a child say hello and greet adults when he goes into their house humanizes them and makes the child realize that there are other people in the world, that other people have needs too.
And French parents see this as an essential stage in a child's development. And I think that's a big thing about French parents, they focus on -- and especially in the early years -- emotional intelligence, not so much developing skills. You know, kids don't learn how to read that early. There's no focus on that. It's more about understanding how to work with other people, building analytical skills and language abilities. As an American, I was always very surprised that my child wasn't learning how to read.
MALVEAUX: Well, see, that -- I should mention too that the book is based on the fact that you were watching your own kids. You have twins and I believe a daughter, and they were not -- they were misbehaving in a restaurant and you looked at the other kids and you said, wait a minute, what's going on here? You talk about another lesson, these big eyes when kids misbehave. You know, I know my parents would give me the eyes and stop us in our tracks. But you say that American parents, they don't have that look.
DRUCKERMAN: You know, I think American parents -- and I feel this in myself. I saw -- and I really saw this in relief (ph) in Paris -- are a bit ambivalent about saying no. You know, parents told me, I feel just as guilty about getting angry as I feel angry. And in France I think they -- they don't have that ambivalence. But what they do is they pick their battles. They're very strict about a few key things and they actually give kids a lot of freedom with everything else. And my observation in France is that kids respond really well to being trusted with freedom on the one hand, but also knowing exactly where the limits are on the other.
MALVEAUX: And you said there's this one --
DRUCKERMAN: You can see this with --
MALVEAUX: Go ahead.
DRUCKERMAN: No, I see this one really good example of this is bedtime. You know, French parents will say, you have to stay in your room. You know, they don't do these two hour extended bedtimes. But inside your room you can do whatever you want. And I've tried this out with my kids and it actually does work. I had the nights to myself.
MALVEAUX: Finally, when folks read the book they think, well, you know, maybe this isn't about American versus French parents. Maybe it's about modern versus tradition. That American parents, it's just a matter of trying to be a modern day parent and they're less strict with their kids. What do you think about that?
DRUCKERMAN: Yes. No, I think that a lot of what I'm saying in the book sounds familiar to American parents. I think some of the things I describe are available in, you know, in different forms. Either in an older style of American parenting or, you know, we get so much information. I think what the French are really good at is editing all these choices we have and focusing in on the one or two key things that really do work, that get your kid to sleep through the night, that get him to eat his vegetables, that get him to stop interrupting, while still kind of respecting the child's creativity and freedom and self-expression. It's a really nice balance and I feel like there's a lot, at least in my -- that I've learned from that and that I've taken as an American parent.
MALVEAUX: All right, Pamela, thank you so much. It's a good read and, you know, I know your kids are well behaved. Thanks. DRUCKERMAN: Thanks for having me on. Not always, but --
MALVEAUX: Sure.
President Obama is celebrating science and he freaked out the Secret Service yesterday. Second annual White House science fair. The president tested out a marshmallow cannon built by Arizona eighth grader Joey Hudy. I want you to check this out.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Uh-oh. Got to use two hands. I think that's good. Oh. It came out pretty fast, huh?
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MALVEAUX: Wow. That's pretty cool. I'm going to ask Bill Nye the Science Guy what he thinks about that project. We're also going to talk about what is it going to take to get American students back on track in math and science. That's in our noon hour of NEWSROOM tomorrow.
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MALVEAUX: Is your heart healthy? Chances are your answer is wrong. A new study says that Americans are way off about their own hearts. Elizabeth Cohen, she joins us now.
Heart disease is the number one killer in this country. And I guess people just get it wrong.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: People get it wrong. This is National Heart Month. And the American Heart Association came out with an interesting statistic this month. They asked -- or a researcher asked people, do you think you're in ideal heart health? Thirty-nine percent said, yes, I am. But studies showed that actually 1 percent of us is in ideal heart health. So people think their hearts are a lot healthier than they are. And so let me give you the reasons why we're not in such great heart health. It's a whole bunch of reasons.
So, first of all, 65 percent of us are overweight or obese. So right there you're not in ideal heart health of you are overweight or obese. Twenty-seven percent of us smoke, either recently or currently. Sixty- percent of us don't get enough exercise. Fifty-six percent of us have blood pressure that is too high. So you add in things like diet and other things and only 1 percent of us really are getting it right.
MALVEAUX: That's really bad.
COHEN: Yes, those are not happy statistics.
MALVEAUX: Those statistics are unbelievable.
COHEN: Yes.
MALVEAUX: What should we be doing to have a healthy heart?
COHEN: You know the Heart Association calls it the simple seven. Seven things that you're supposed to do to have a healthy heart. So they're pretty common sense, but I think we need to be reminded of them.
So, first of all, have a healthy diet. And that means things like, you know, not eating too much fat, but also not too much sodium. And a lot of people don't get that right. Don't smoke. Exercise. And also, keep your weight and your cholesterol and your blood pressure and your glucose at a healthy level. And, you know, that doesn't -- not all of us do that.
MALVEAUX: No, I guess none of us. It's amazing when you think about that list there.
COHEN: Yes.
MALVEAUX: What about exercise? How big a deal is exercise?
COHEN: You know, exercise is a very big deal. But, unfortunately, sometimes people think, well, why should I try because I can't work out every day. I can't be a marathon runner like Suzanne Malveaux, so --
MALVEAUX: I'm not always a marathon runner, or even sometimes.
COHEN: So people think I have to be this great athlete. But you really don't. I mean even if you're just doing let's say 30 minutes of exercise three times a week, that has been shown to make you healthier. So even just three times a week for half an hour, if you can just get yourself off the couch. And it doesn't have to be 30 minutes at one time. Take a 10-minute walk in the morning, a 10-minute walk at lunch, a 10-minute walk in the evening, it's going to make a difference.
MALVEAUX: All right, get off the couch.
COHEN: Get off the couch. That's what it's about.
MALVEAUX: All right, we'll do. Thank you, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
MALVEAUX: And we know one person who's not on the couch, Michelle Obama. She wants us to be healthy. She's been showing off her fitness, promoting her "Let's Move" campaign to end childhood obesity. All right, so she's bringing fruits and veges to Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show." And she showed us some of her boxing skills.
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JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": It looks like you got a little testy with Al Roker. Show that footage here.
AL ROKER: Are jumping jacks your exercise of choice?
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: You know, I do everything. I mean, jumping jacks, squats, lunges.
ROKER: Uh-oh.
OBAMA: I do a little bit of everything. A little boxing.
ROKER: Does the president have to worry about the boxing part?
OBAMA: You know, sometimes when he sees me punching, he kind of --
ROKER: Oh!
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MALVEAUX: All right. So then the first lady does push-ups with Ellen DeGeneres on "Ellen." Watch this.
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CROWD: Fourteen, 15, 16, 17.
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MALVEAUX: Twenty-five. Wow. Ellen eventually tapped out. Late night host Jimmy Fallon. He's the latest to challenge her. I want you to check out this clip. It aired last night.
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OBAMA: We're going to start with a stair race. Are you ready to do this?
JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: I was born ready.
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MALVEAUX: All right, fair to say Mrs. Obama on a winning streak. Tomorrow, two-year anniversary of her fitness initiative. I'll challenger. See how we do.
Well, today's "Talk Back" question, what is it about Rick Santorum? Andrew says, "simply put, he's the only conservative in the four man field. The other three are wishy-washy moderates who try to make themselves look like conservatives." Carol Costello, she's got more of your responses up ahead.
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MALVEAUX: You've been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question, what is it about Rick Santorum? Carol Costello has your responses.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne. What is it about Rick?
This from Vanessa. She says, "Sanatorium is a man that does not practice dirty politics. He's a straight shooter, trustworthy, confident, compassionate, a family man and, above all, a man of integrity. Gingrich and Romney are like dirty car salesmen. They will only tell you want you want to hear just to get the sell."
This from Toby. "He panders to the unintelligent Bible thumping social conservatives. The GOP is great at using social issues to scare middle class Americans into voting against their own economic interests."
This from Patricia. "Big hearted Rick Santorum has got that humbled Christian conservative mojo that's inviting and he's handsome, a likeable person that draws people to listen to him. His wife better watch out because America has fallen in love with her husband's charming smile and message." Whoo.
And this from Matt. "Rick Santorum is just another flavor of the week."
Please, continue the conversation because, frankly, it's been enjoyable. Facebook.com/carolcnn. And thanks, as always, for your comments.
MALVEAUX: Always enjoyable with you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye.
Hey, Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne.
